DOHA, (Reuters) – Thomas Bjorn became the first Danish-born player to capture the Qatar Masters yesterday when he recorded a bogey-free final-round 69 in windy conditions to win by four strokes.
The Dane, who turns 40 later this month, finished ahead of Spain’s Alvaro Quiros on 14-under-par 274 to pick up his 11th title on the European Tour and move to third in this season’s money list.
“In the end it became a bit of a cruise but I am delighted with the week. I played solid golf. I think I made one bogey in the last 54 holes. On this golf course and in these conditions, that’s good going,” said the twice Ryder Cup player.
Spaniard Rafael Cabrera and Austria’s Markus Brier finished a shot further back on 279 while defending champion Robert Karlsson of Sweden closed with a 74 for 282 and Spain’s Sergio Garcia hit a 68 for a 283 final total.
“I said yesterday it was going to be one of those days where it’s a question of hanging in, and that’s all I did earlier on,” added Bjorn.
“I didn’t play particularly well for at least the first six holes. I was really struggling and didn’t hit any fairways, and just kept holing a few putts for pars.”
Bjorn’s world ranking is now set to improve from 134 to the top 60, a position he will want to consolidate at next week’s Dubai Desert Classic.
The world’s top 64 players will contest the lucrative WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona later this month, and the victory is a timely one for the 2010 Ryder Cup vice-captain who had previously won only once since 2006.
“All parts of the game were well this week. I fought when I needed to and I kept it together and I never got ahead of myself. So that’s a good day’s work,” he said.
